title: Piloting a psycho-social intervention for incarcerated women with trauma histories: lessons learned and future recommendations.
abstract: Trauma and related mental health disorders are common among incarcerated women, but empirically sound mental health interventions are lacking in prisons. Implementing such interventions is fraught with legal and logistical barriers. These barriers can be particularly detrimental for trauma-specific interventions given the unique needs of trauma survivors, yet there is little documentation of these issues or how to address them. This study describes a pilot study of an 8-week, strengths-based, trauma-focused intervention for 26 incarcerated women. Women reported considerable mental health problems and trauma. The study highlights the importance of adapting stringent research methodologies for prison-based trauma interventions. For instance, women with trauma were reluctant to participate in an intervention advertised as trauma-based. Moreover, a randomized wait list control design was unfeasible because women wanted the support of their friends when discussing trauma and could not control their schedules 9 weeks in advance. Ultimately, this work may inform future efforts to implement effective trauma-based interventions behind prison walls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, NY, USA rliebman@psych.rochester.edu.
authors.forename: Rachel E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Liebman
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mandi L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Burnette
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raimondi
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Corey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nichols-Hadeed
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Merle
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, NY, USA Department of Susan B Anthony Center for Women's Leadership, University of Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cerulli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D057189:Checklist / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012649:Self Concept; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: incarceration; intervention; prison; trauma; women